Safety third rail for railway-tracks.



No. 846.339. I PATENTED MAR. 5, 1907. V J. MORAVEN.

SAFETY THIRDRAIL FOR RAILWAY TRACKS.

APPLIOTION I'ILED FBB. 27. 1906.

lNv'EN'roR.

JOHN MQRAVEN.

JOHN MGRAVEN, OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.

SAFETY THIRD RAIL FOR RALWAY-TRCKS.

hic. &46,339.

Specification of Letters Paten a.

Patented March 5. 1907.

Application filed February 27.1906- Serial Ne 303.279.

To (Li/l whom it 'Ina/y (JOFLOBT'L:

Be it known that I, JOHN MCRAVEN, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Little Rock, Arkansas, have invented certain new and usefulImprovenents in Safety Third R ails for R ailway-Tracks, of which thefollowing is a specification containing a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart hereof.

My invention relates to a safety third rail 'for railway-tracks; and theobject of my invention is to arrange a third rail or guard in the centerof a railway-track and to arrange a grooved wheel upon the center' ofeach of the car-axles, which grooved Wheels engage upon the third rail,and thus prevent the derailment of the car-wheels as a result ofspreading or broken rails.

T o the above purposes my invention consists of certain novel 'featuresof Construction and arrangement of p arts, which will be hereina'l termore fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in theaccoinpanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of asection of my improved safety third rail. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectionthrough the rails oi" a railway-track with my safety third rail i'nposition between the track-rails and the grooved wheel in position uponthe car-axle. Fig. 3 %s a vertical section taken on the line 3 3 ofReferring by numerals to the acconpanying drawings, 1 indicates thecross-tie, and 2 the ordinary track-rails, which are spiked to thecross-tie in the usual manner.

3 designates the car-axle, and 4: the carwheels 'fixed to said axle andrunning upon the rails 2 My improved safety third rail, which is locatedinidway between the track-rails 2 and extends parallel therewith, is Ashape in cross-section, with the inclined side portions 5, the lowerends ot which are bent outwardly into horizontal planes to form fianges6, which rest directly upon the crossties 1 and upon the edges of whichthe spikes are arranged which fix the third rail to the crossties. Theupper ends of the side portions 5 extend vertically upward, as indicatedby 8, which portions are parallel with each other and are united attheir upper ends by the integral section 9, which is horizontallydisposed. This third rail so construeted is very light in weight andowing to its peculiar shape is very strong and can be easilymanufactured.

Loosely mounted upon the center of the axle 3 is a grooved wheel 10, theperiphery of which is immediately above but not in contact with the topsurface of the upper end of the third rail, and integral with the sidesof this wheel 10 are the fianges 11, the innertaces 12 of which arebeveled or formed onangles correspondng to the inclined side sections 5of' the third rail. 'When the carwheels l are on the track-rails 2, thefianges 11 on the lower side of the wheel extend downwardly over theupper portion of the third rail, and the space between said ilanges issuch that the side faces of the third rail do not bear against saidfiarges. The wheel 10 is held upon the axle 3 against lateral motion bymeans ot the collars 13, which are locked to said axle by the set-screws14. As long as the car-wheels 4: ride in proper position upon the 'flatrails 2, the grooved wheel 10 travels over the npper portion of thethird rail without engaging thereon; but should the tracl rails 2 spreador break, so as to allow one or both of the car-wheels i to drop orshift to either side, the upper portion of the third rail will beengaged by the wheel 10 and its ilanges, and thus the car-wheels will becarried in proper position past the spread or broken rails, and withoutaccident to the car beneath which the wheels are arranged.

My improved safety-rail is a alicable for all car-tracks, is easily andquic (ly placed in position, and greatly reduces the liability ofaccidents due to spreading or broken rails.

The center rail is somewhat higher than the ordinary track-rails, andthe grooved wheel 1.0 is loose upon the car-axle, so that it can travelon top of the third rail when engaged there on. The center rail may bediscontinued through switches, as trains generally slackcn speed whiletraveling onto or past a switch.

l. claim- 1. The combination with a rail arranged between thetrack-rails of a rai'lway-track, and a grooved wheel loosely mounted onthe car-axle above said rail substantially as specified.

' 2. The conbination with an A-shaped rail positioned between the usualtrack-rails ot a railway-track, of a grooved wheel loosely mounted upon'the car-axle, and which grooved wheel extends downwardly IOC IIO

over the top of the A-shaped rail; substanf flanges of the wheel;substantially as spec- IO tially as specified. fied.

3. The combnaton With a ear-axle, of a In testimony Whereof I havesigned my pair of eollars 'gidly held On the center name to thisspeeificaton in presence o two thereof, a grooved wheel arranged forrotasubseribing witnesses. ton on the car-axle between said collars, andJOHN MCRAVEN. en A-shaped thrd rail fixed to the tes between theordinary track-mile, and the upper end of said thi'd rail extendngbetween the /Vtnesses:

M. P. SMITH, JOHN C. HIGDoN.

